Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-01-14
Chilly gress and 9aiutaias
W. G. I. q. Department.
M. LOUISE TANNER, EDIroR,

M. LOUISE TANNER, EDIToR.
1.-THE friends of prohibition are cordially in.
vited TO contribute to this department. Com
munications to be available must be brief. Ad-
dress the editor, p. o. Drawer, 1851
II WINE WHICH THE RIBLE CONDEMNS.
The texts which we are to consider
are those which speak approvingly OF
vine. There are about twenty such IN
the Bible while there are about n
hundred and thirty which denounce it.
But why should there be even twenty
in favor Of what is SO often condemned?
Does the Bible contradict itself? Does
it directly say on one page, Look not
thou upon the wine" prov, xiii 3l),
warning against it's use in the strongest
terms, comparing its effects to the bite
OF the deadly serpent, and on another
page say OF the self-same element,
Drink 1t with o merry heart, for God
now accepteth thy works.? Eco. 9, ~.
lhis is q question we must decide In
our minds before w can do whole
hearted temperance work. II the Bible
does not condemn the use of everything
that intoxicates, our pledges are wrong,
and our temperance societies are assum-
ing what the Bible doee not warrant.
The texts under consideration are not
the prescriptions OF q physician. It is,
drink with q merry heart drink
sbundsntly." The invitation. the per-
mission. is full and free, and what God
bestows upon his people as o blessing,
no, society has q right to interdict.
Thls Is the q~uestion,-is the wine
spoken Of in these texts the same in
toxicating element which we commonly
call wine? In order to read the Bible
understandingly, we should make our.
selves acquainted with the habits of the
people OF the country in which 1t was
written. There are abundant means OF
doing this if we will but read the testi-
mony OF those who have made such
things the study of their lives. Aud
from such sources, as we'll as from the
Bible itself, We learn that In the land of
Palestine grapes are abundant, forming
one OF thu chief articles OF food. We
are told in Zechariah, "Corn shall make
the young men cheerful. and new WINE
the maids (Zech- tx. ~, and in Deu-
teronomy "lsrael shall dwell in safety
alone, the fountain CT Jacob shall be
upon a land OF corn and wine" (Deut.
xxxiii, 2S). The phrase '.'corn and wine"
seems to have been as Familiarity used
with them as "bread and butter" is with
us.
Rev. DR.. Eli Smith, American mission
airy In Syria, in the year 1916, writes of
the vineyards Of Mount Lebanon: ain
an unbroken space about two miles long
by half 9 mile wide. only o few gallons OF
Intoxicating wine are made. The wine
is an item of no consideration; it ls not
the most important, but rather the least
so, OF all the objects for which the vine is
cultivated" Rev. Henry Homes. another
American missionary, writing two years
after DIR. Smith. says: simple grape
JUICE is boiled four or five hours. 1t is
then put into earthen instead of wooden
=-sss;s, !t:sss }: msy &c iess iiiabi to Ter.
ment, and closely tied over with skin to
exclude the air. 1t ordinarily has not .
particle OF Intoxicating quality, being
used freely by both Mohammedans and
Christians. Some which I have had on
hand for two years has undergone no
change" Kitto tells us OF the grapes OF
Mount Lebanon: ''They are used in
making unrivaIled syrup which is ex-
ported chiefly to Egypt" DIR. Shaw
that in his time two thousand
hrndsedweight of this were annually ex-
ported from Hebron alone, KlttO quotes
the description given BIZ Olearius (1637),1
in which he says: sI'hs Persians make
o syrup of sweet wine which they boil
till it be grown BIS thick as oil, ana when
they would take of it they dissolve il
with water. Sometimes they boil it so
long that they reduce it to q paste for
the convenience Of travellers, who cut it
with. o knife, and dissolve ii with water.
they mix IL with beaten
almonds, -four, etc, and set it under the.
press, and it grows SO hard o man must
have a Ratchet to cut it with"
1t is supposed by some that it ID Of
such preparation that we read in
Isaiah: "And in this mountain shall the
Lord OF hosts make unto eli people q
feast Of fat things, g feast of wine on the.
lees, Of fat things full Of marrow, OF wine
on the lees, we'll refined (Iea. XIV, g..
Kitto says the word wine dees not occur
in the original text, and that the verse
may be rendered: And Jehovah of hosts
shall make to all peoples in this noun
tain q feast Of OF fat things, q feast OF
preserves of the richest fairness, of pre-
serves we'll refined"
The Rev. MIR. Fuller, formerly OF Min
nesota. now q missionary in Turkey,
writes: 1.-THE juice of the grape is boiled
down in great quantities, and commonly
used in the household much as we use
molasses.. 1t is thicker than moiasses,
and in winter can be cut with a knife.
II is put up in goat skins, and is a COM
mol article of trade in the market. We
use it in our house constantly, and like
it ch........,L Last year I asked one of
our native friends what he conld recon-
mend fer . cool summer drink. He at
once said that he would send me from
the market q pot OF pax NEE (boiled grape
juice) made for that purpose, which he
did. and We have used it, and
enjoyed it very much. The taste
is not unlike Q cider, and it is q most
agreeable and refreshing drink"
Mis-. Benton. who spent more than
twenty years in Syria, says: "They
make quantities Of dds, boiling down the
Rrape-juice to q thick molasses. 1t ID
very delicious, and will keep any length
OF time.....It 10 diluted with water, and
drank very freely by all"
"But," say the obiectors, "this not
wine." We answer: it is improbable that
such a very common article OF food and
drink is never mentioned IN Scripture;
bat il it is mentioned il must be by
some OF the various terms which have
been translated wine. One ancient writ